Elevator.



No. 724,504. I PATENTED APR. 7, 190's.

ELEVATOR. 4 APPLIOATION IILED' JULY 1, 1901..

H0 MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1..

l l I I m: NGRRiS PETERS no. wuoro-u'mn, WASHINGYON. nv c.

- PATENTED APR. 7, 1903 J. RICE. ELEVATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 1, 1901.

I0 MODEL.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH RICE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF TWO-TIIIRDS TO WILLIAM H.REEDY AND WILLIAM I. REEDY, OF CHICAGO,

ILLINOIS.

ELEVATO R.

' srncimcAmoN forming part of Letters Patent No. 724,504, dated April 7,1903.

Application filed July 1, 1901. Serial No. 66,660. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOSEPH RICE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Elevators, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact specificationv My inventionrelates to elevators, and the improvements have more especial referenceto the means for taking. up andpaying out the hoisting cable or cableswhere the same pass around the fixed and traveling sheaves or otherequivalent means; and my invention has for its primary object toaccomplish this by means of power-driven gripping devices engaging aconnection extending from said traveling sheave or equivalent member insuch a manner as to take up and pay out such connection, thus alsotaking up and paying out the folds of the hoisting cable or cables.

With these ends in view my invention consists in certain features ofnovelty in the construction, combination, and arrangement of parts bywhich the said objects and certain other objects hereinafter appearingare attained, all as fully described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the said drawings, Figurel is a general diagrammatic view of myimproved elevator looking from the plane of the line 1 1, Fig. 2. Fig. 1is a detail section on the line a a, Fig. 1. Fig. 2 is a diagrammaticview looking from the plane of line 2 2, Fig. 1, the motorshaft beingshown in section on said line. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail diagrammaticview of the controlling-switch hereinafter described. Fig. 4 is anenlarged detail side elevation of one of the movable gripping-wheels,showingthe means forholding the same up to its work. Fig. 4: is asimilar view of the opposite side. view of an automatic brake mechanismhereinafter explained, and Fig. 5 is a detail section of the grip-wheelsand pulleys.

l is the elevator-car, running in shaft or well 2 and supported by oneor more hoistsuitable sheaves 4, and thence downwardly and aroundtraveling sheave 5 and fixed or Fig. 5 is a detail sectional anchoredsheave 6 in one or more folds, as usual, or in any other suitable way,so that as the traveling sheave 5 is moved bodily with relation to theanchored sheave 6 the cable 3 will be taken up or paid out, accordinglyas the movable sheave 5 is carried away from or toward its companionsheave 6.

Secured to the movable sheave 5 in any suitable manner, as by means of ayoke 7, is the aforesaid connection with which the gripping devicesengage, as before mentioned. In the example of my invention shown in thedrawings this connection is flexible and is preferably composed of oneor more'cables 8, secured at their upperends to the yoke 7 in anysuitable manner and having attached to their lower ends a weight 9,which is thereby suspended in mid-air and which constitutes in greateror less degree a counterbalance for the car 1, said weight being of theusual or any suitable construction and also serving to hold the cables 8straight and in an upright position.

The form of gripping devices for engaging the cables 8 shown in thepresent example of my invention consists of two gripping wheels or drums1O 11, secured to shafts 12 13, respectively, and engaging oppositesides of the cables 8, said gripping-wheels being provided withperipheral grooves in their faces for receiving the cables 8,respectively, if desired. The shaft'l2 is journaled in standards 14 15,while the shaft 13 is journaled at each end in a sliding box 16, mountedin ways 17in standards 18, so that the shaft 13 may be adjustedrelatively to the shaft 12, and in order that the gripping-wheels 1O 11may be held up to their work in'firm engagement with the cables 8 somesuitable device is employed for traveling sheave 5, and thus taking upthe hoisting-cable 3 and elevating the car, and when said grip-wheelsare rotated in the opposite direction the weight 9 will be elevated, thecables 8 paid out, and the hoisting-cable 3 accordingly paid out topermit the car to descend. In order that the grippingwheels may be thusrotated in either direction for moving and controlling the travelingsheave 5, I preferably connect said grip-wheels with some suitable formof motor. In the drawings I have shown for this purpose an electricmotor 23, whose pulley 24 is connected by one or more cables or belts 25having folds 25 25 28 28, with sheaves or pulleys 26 27 secured to theshafts 12 13, respectively. As clearly shown in Fig. 2, the folds 25 28of these continuous belts or cables pass upwardly on the outer side ofand over the pulleys 26 27, respectively, and then pass downwardlybetween the said pulleys, so as to form folds 2 8, which, together withthe folds 25 28, provide loops in which is suspended an idlerpulley 29,on the shaft 30 of which is supported, by means of arms 31, a weight 32of suflicient heft to keep the belts 25 taut and impart the rotation ofthe pulley 24 to the pulleys 26 27. From the folds 28 the belts extendto the folds 25, which pass under the pulley 24.

In order that the pulley 29 may be maintained in position and heldagainst undue os-/ cillation, its shaft or pintle 30 is carriedoutwardly through slots 33 in suitable hangers 34, suspended fromsupport 35.

Should the cables 25 break or slip off their pulleys, the shafts 12 13,and as a consequence the grip-wheels 1O 11, will be automatically lockedby means of a strap-brake 35* or brake of any other suitable formengaging a drum 36 on the shaft 12. The ends of the strap 35 are securedto one end of a. brake-lever 37, pivoted in suitable standard 38 andhaving its other end connected by cable or connection 39 with the weight32, which would of course be allowed to fall if the cables or belts 25broke or jumped their pulleys. It is of course understood that thegrip-wheel ll being forced against the cables 8 by the weights 21 andthe cables in turn forced against the grip-wheel 10 the Wheel 11 couldnot rotate without rotating the wheel 10. There are various other brakemechanisms, however, that will readily suggest themselves to thoseskilled in the art and might be substituted for the example shown in thedrawings.

The motor-shaft 40 is provided with a brakedrum 41, (see Fig. 5,) withwhich engages a strap-brake 42, whose ends are operatively connected inany suitable way with a weighted brake-lever 43, which when nototherwise restrained automatically applies the brake and arrests therotation of the shaft 40, thus also To this brake-lever 43 is securedthe lower end of an armature or core 44, projecting up wardly into asolenoid 45, coupled'up in any suitable manner in circuit with the motor23, so that when the current through the motor is broken the weightedlever 43 will automatically apply the brake 42. As an example of meansfor accomplishing this I have shown parallel switches 46 47, secured orotherwise connected to a pulley 48, around which passes the hand-cable49, which passes through the car in the usual way. These switches 46 47are connected at their upper ends to the main conductors 50, which leadfrom the city plant or any other suitable source of electricity, whilearranged adjacent to the lower endsof the switches are threecontact-points 51 52 53. The contact-point 51 is connected by conductor54 to conductor 55, which is also connected by branch conductor 56 tocontactpoint 53, the conductor 55 leading to the solenoid and thence tomotor 23, while contact-point 52 is connected by conductor 57 to theother pole of motor 23. With the switches in the position shown in Figs.1 and 3 the current passes into the motor through switch 47 andconductor 57 and returns to the main line throughconductors 54 andswitch46, thus causing the motor to rotate in one direction and holding thebrake-lever 43 elevated. Should it be desired to rotate the motor in theopposite direction, however, for sending the car in a differentdirection, the operator imparts sufficient pull to the cable 49 to carrythe lower ends of switches 46 47 from the contacts 51 52 to the contacts5253, respectively, when the incoming circuit along switch 47 will passalong conductor 56 and enter the motor through conductor 55 and willreturn from the motor through conductor 57 and enter the main line'viaswitch 46, thus passing into the motor in the opposite direction towhich it did before, and consequently reversing the direction ofrotation of the armature. Should it be desired to stop the car,necessitating stopping the motor, the handcable 49 would be manipulatedto bring the lower ends of the switches 46 47 out of contact withcontact-point 52, so that one of the switches will be out of circuit.For olearness of illustration I have shown a dead-point or button 58, towhich the lower end of switch 47 is moved, carrying lowerend of switch46 away from contact-point 51 when it is desired to open the circuit.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new therein, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In an elevator, the combination of the hoisting-cable, a movablesheave suspended in a fold of the hoisting-cable, a flexible connectionsuspended from the movable sheave, a fixed gripping-wheel located on oneside of the flexible connection, a movable grippingwheel located on theother side of the flexible connection, means for causing the movablegripping-wheel to bear against the flexible connection, and means forrotating the gripping-Wheels in unison.

2. In an elevator, the combination of a hoisting-cable, a movable sheavesuspended in a fold of the hoisting-cable, a flexible connection, a yokewhereby the flexible connection is suspended from the movable sheave, acounterweight suspended from the flexible connection, a fixedgripping-wheel located on one side of the flexible connection, a movablegripping-wheel located on the other side of the flexible connection,means for causing the movable gripping-wheel to bear against theflexible connection, and means for rotating the gripping-wheels inunison.

3. In an elevator, the combination of a hoisting-cable, a movable sheavesuspendedin a fold of the cable, a flexible connection suspended fromthe movable sheave, standards having fixed bearings, a gripping-Wheel,having a shaft, mounted in the fixed bearings and bearing against oneside of the flexible connection, standards having ways, bearingboxes,adapted to slide in the ways, a grip ping-wheel having a shaft mountedin the bearing-boxes and bearing against the other side of the flexibleconnection,levers pivoted to the last-named standards, having short armsbearing against the bearing-boxes, and long arms provided with weights,and means for rotating the shafts in unison.

4. In an elevator, the combination of a hoisting-cable, a movable sheavesuspended in a fold of the hoisting-cable, a flexible connectionsuspended from the movable sheave, gripping-wheels mounted on shafts andbearing against the flexible connection and means for rotating thegripping-wheels comprising driven sheaves mounted on the shafts on thegripping-wheels, a motor having a shaft, a

driving-pulley, and an idler-pulley suspend-.

ed in a fold of the belt beneath the driven sheaves.

5. In an elevator the combination of the hoisting-cable, a movabledevice for taking up and paying out the same, a connection ex-- tendingfrom said movable device, a gripping device for taking up and paying outsaid connection, a pair of pulleys for actuating said gripping device, acontinuous belt passing partially around said pulleys and down wardlybetween the same to form a loop, a belttightener engaging said loop andmeans for driving said belt, substantially as set forth.

6. In an elevator the combination of the hoisting-cable, a movabledevice for taking up and paying out the same, a connection ex-' tendingfrom said movable device, a gripping device engaging said connection fortaking up and paying out the same, a pairof pulleys for operating saidgripping device, a continuous belt passing partially around said pulleysand downwardly between them to form a loop, a weighted idler supportedby said loop and means for driving said belt, substantially as set forthJOSEPH RICE;

Witnesses:

F. A. HOPKINS, D. O. GURNEE.

